


Uninvited

by Cephy



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Community: no_true_pair, Gen, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-22
Updated: 2010-03-22
Packaged: 2017-10-08 13:16:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/76019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cephy/pseuds/Cephy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the prompt: "To Noir's surprise, the trespasser is someone Noir knows – it's Van!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Uninvited

She didn't hear the door open. Which, considering that she kept the bottom hinge squeaky for just that purpose, was extremely surprising. It put her off guard just long enough for the intruder to get inside her space and wrap one of those big swordsman's hands around her throat, pinning her to the wall. Her little knife with its wicked tip went clattering uselessly to the floor.

"If it isn't the Lady of the Dark Wings," Dorian General Grants said, leaning into her.

Noir tried to meet his eyes with the cool disdain that usually served her so well-- probably not quite as effective as she'd hoped given the way her breath whistled on every inhale, and with the way her heart was pounding hard and fast enough for him to feel, but damned if she was going to let him break her that easily. "Afraid I don't know what you mean," she managed to say, lifting both eyebrows.

He tightened his hold, and she heard herself make a choked-off cry as her vision edged towards grey. "Now, now," Grants said, obscenely gentle. "I don't think you want to lie to me."

His fingers loosened again, letting her suck in a grateful gasp. She glared at him through watering eyes. "What do you want?"

"Luckily for you, it has nothing to do with your little freak show or your own numerous crimes. Yet." He smiled indulgently, as if he actually meant that to be reassuring. "I'm just looking for some information."

He leaned in until she could feel his breath on her ear. "Asch," he murmured. "You worked for him. Where is he?"

"I don't know," she answered tightly.

Grants was still for a moment-- and then Noir found herself on the floor, curling around the pain in her gut, not even having seen the blow that caused it. No one came running at her cry; she hoped it was because they were all scared and hiding or too far away to hear, not because the man before her had killed them on his way in.

Grants picked her up before she had quite stopped retching, and carelessly pinned her to the wall again, fingers pressing unerringly to the bruises already forming on her neck. "Where is he?" Grants repeated, as if nothing had happened.

"_I don't know_," she insisted, hoarse. "Haven't seen him in months." She probably would have said it even if it hadn't been true-- she hoped she would have done, anyway, and didn't like to think about what he could do to make her give in and tell because she didn't doubt Grants would do any of those things if he thought she was hiding something. Fortunately for her, she spoke nothing but the truth. She'd said farewell to her little God-General after the end of their last job, and though he'd offered her something longer-term she'd turned him down. Too risky, she'd said.

The irony of the situation did not escape her.

Grants looked at her closely, while she just tried to blink her eyes clear and steady her breath. Eventually, he growled something wordless and shifted his arm, tossing her roughly to the floor. He left as silently as he'd arrived.

Slowly, Noir pushed herself to sitting, wincing as she wrapped an arm around her middle and examined the bloody scrape she'd acquired across one shoulder. Seconds later, running footsteps started just at the edge of her hearing, quiet but getting louder fast. She tensed despite herself-- feeling her lips peel back from her teeth as she stared at the still-open door, disgusted and ashamed at how she couldn't quite stop the instinctive cringe away-- and only relaxed when the familiar, frantic faces of York and Urushi came into view.

York had blood under his fingernails, she noticed. Urushi was favouring his right foot.

"I'm fine," she said quietly when they started to fuss. She looked at York first. "Go see who else is hurt, make sure they're looked after." And when he nodded and ran off, she turned to Urushi instead. "I don't care what means you have to use," she said lowly, "you find Asch and you tell him we're taking that job after all."

Alone again, Noir drew a deep breath and held it against the urge to wince. She'd been willing to stay out of whatever mess the rest of the world had going, a few profitable jaunts aside. She had her Isle, her home, her people; it didn't matter what happened to the Outside. But if Grants was going to bring his trouble her way-- that changed things.

Eyes narrow, she thought about Asch and about what she knew of his plans-- which wasn't much, all things considered, but she did know that he was working against Grants. And the enemy of her enemy, after all--

Grants had definitely just made an enemy. One that, if she had her way, he would live only long enough to regret.


End file.
